Self-enquiry as taught by Sri Bhagwan is enough

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

“Turning the mind inward within and attention to the Self is our primary and only job.” Very well said indeed. Thank you so much, sir. Sri Viveka Nanda said that every human being is potentially divine and Goal of life is to seek this divinity within—whatever the path. Sri Bhagwan said that to eye of Jnana, the whole Universe itself is divine, Siva-Swarupa. Therefore, there is no doubt whatever that our primary duty is the Realisation of our Self, to regain the Natural State. And to achieve this all important Goal, Sri Bhagwan said that the enquiry is the first and foremost method. Enquiry is to turn the mind within and fix it in the Self. Srimad Bhagavad Gita says the same: “One should gradually attain quietude with the intellect held steadfast and the mind sunk in the Self, allowing no thought to arise. And that to whatever side the restless, unsteady mind wanders away, one should check it and bring it back controlled to the Self. (V. 6-25&26)” And when the mind thus gains strength to abide in the Self, It is Realisation, It is the Pure State of our Being. Sri Bhagwan means only that when He says that ‘your duty is to be and not to be this and that’.

However, if one cannot turn the mind inward, Sri Bhagwan says one should cultivate Bhakti (devotion) and gradually surrender to the Guru or God his ego—‘I’ and  ‘mine’ thus achieving complete surrender. This is the only other way.   

Since the goal of life is to seek the divinity within, one should make whole-hearted and total inner commitment to effort for Self-Realisation in this very birth. Yes. There is no other goal whatever. What goals ? Whose goals ? Do I know him who has other goals ? Therefore, why waste time for achieving goals for one who is a complete stranger ?

Regards,
  Anil

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Yes. This is the essence of Jnana Yoga. Once Sri
Vivekananda was addressing young boys and girls
in America. One of them felt that Swami was hypnotizing
them. She stood up and said:  "Swami, you are hypnotizing
us." Swami Vivekananda replied: "No child, you are already
hypnotized. I am only trying to de-hypnotize you."

The world is hypnotizing us. We have to be dehypnotized
through such competent Gurus.



Arunachala Siva. 

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Ji. Yes. But people at large do not realise that they are hypnotized. The Lord Of the Gita says:

"Deluded by the mental states accruing from the three gunas of Prakriti, this world knows not Me, the IMPERISHABLE, transcending these gunas." (V. 7-13, Srimad Bhagavad Gita)

In V. 6-25 & 26 the Lord of the Gita says that one should gradually, gradually, attain quietude with the intellect held steadfast and the mind sunk in the Self. Here in the next Verse, i.e., V. 7-14, the Lord says that His divine Maya (Power) which is constituted of three gunas is difficult to overcome. The Lord says that whoever takes refuge in Him alone , in utter devotion, overcomes it.

Therefore, there are only two ways--Enquiry or utter Devotion to the Feet of the Lord, as Sri Bhagwan revealed. Ji. Yes. the Sadguru is needed. His Look of Grace alone can end this terrible delusion.     

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil



 

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Many devotees had asked Sri Bhagavan whether He had
any Guru. Sri Bhagavan sometimes had said:  Atma is my
Guru.  On some other occasions, He had said: Arunachala
is my Guru. Both are the same. He has said in Sri Arunachala
Akshara Mana Maalai in Verse 19:

O Arunachala! You who stand and shine before me in the form
of my Guru, destroy utterly my faults, cure me and convert me
and as your servant govern me.

Egoism, the separate 'I" is the cause of all faults, the original sin.
Disinterestedness, detachment, egolessness is the one qualification
for service to God.



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subbramanian Sir,

Lord Sri Arunachala incarnated as the Sadguru Sri Ramana. Akshara Mana Malai was composed by Sri Bahgwan for His devotees. It is Lord Sri Arunachala Himself who listened the doubts, questions, prayers etc. of the devotees and cleared and answered them in the form of Sri Ramana Bhagwan, employing His body, mind and speech as means so that the world is saved and the ignorance of His devotees is dipelled. So, He composed Divine, Subtle Verses and delineated His Teaching in Golden Words. 

"Shine as my Guru, making me free from faults and worthy of Thy Grace, Oh Arunachala !"

'Atma is my Guru. Sri Arunachala is my Guru.' Sri Arunachala is verily the Atma, the Self. So, Sri Bhagwan is verily the Atma, the Self. Self alone is the Real Sadguru. He alone is the INNER GURU, as the Self. He alone is the OUTER GURU, sitting facing southwards dispeeling the doubts of the earnest seekers. Therefore, He alone can free His devotees of their doubts and make them worthy of His Grace.

Ji. Yes. Sri Bhagwan has said that the rise of the sinful ego-'I' is the Original Sin. He has said that the ego is the repository of all sins and the Self is the repository of all virtues.

Thank you so much, sir, for a nice post.

Regards,
  Anil     

[eranilkumarsinha]

Siva you are  and Vishnu too,
And also Brahma, Venkata !
O child, those who know nothing at all
Of your true Being, how could they understand
Their nature and qualities.
                                            V. 1160, Sri Ramana Sannidhi Murai


The Guru is Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha.How can ignorant children ever understand the true nature and qualities of gods without knowing the True Being of the Guru Ramana ?

Thank you,
  Anil

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

Self is ever-present. The Grace is ever-present. Grace is the Self. But the Self and Grace are realised by the inner sadhana only. So Sri Bhagwan says that the real worship to the Guru is the worship of the Self. The real service to the Guru is inward reflection on one’s True Nature and realise It by the Enquiry or Surrender. This service to the Guru can be performed at all times and at all places if there is earnestness and devotion. Spiritual life is not merely mechanical observance of any spiritual practice, for a fixed time, and in the rest of the time allow the mind to keep barking, but an inner transformation.  (

Sri Bhagwan often said that the Supreme Self, which is ever shining as the Awareness in our heart, is the True Sadguru. Pure Awareness, shining as the Inward Illumination ‘I’ is His Gracious Feet. Contact with the Inner Holy feet can alone confer liberation. Physical prostration to the Feet of the Guru has an important place in spiritual life. But Sri Bhagwan says that joining the eye of the reflected consciousness, which is our sense of individuality, to the Inner Holy Feet of the Sadguru, which is Pure Awareness shining as the Inward Illumination ‘I’, is the True Union of the head to the Holy Feet. Sri Bhagwan says that this indeed is the real meaning of the Mahavakya ‘Tat Tvam Asi’.

Dear devotees, if mind is inward-turned, Sri Bhagwan says that the Inner Holy Feet can be held naturally and unceasingly. THERFORE, CLINGING TO THE INNER HOLY FEET, THAT PURE AWARENESS SHINING AS INWARD ILLUMINATION ‘I’, ALONE, IS THE TRUE PROSTRATION. That alone is the true namaskaram as well. This alone is the real tapas. This alone is the proper way of ending the ignorance and attaining the Supreme Self which is the Truth of our existence.

One does not unite and merge with Padam by any kind of effort, but rather through the loss of ego, which is profound peace.
                                                      V. 114, Ch. Padam, Padamalai

Whoever one may be and whatever sadhana one may do, Padam will not shine except through the enquiry of knowing one’s real nature in the Heart.
                                                        V. 108, Ch. Padam, Padamalai

Thank you,
  Anil                                   

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Yes. Ribhu Gita also says:

When I prostrate, I prostrate to the Atman.  When
I circumambulate, I do pradkashina for Atman.

Sri Sankara says in Siva Maanasa Puja:

You are the Atman. Girija [Mother, daughter of Himavan]
is my buddhi. The ingoing and outcoming prana are
your servants. All my worldly enjoyments are puja for
you. Whatever I speak is prayers for you.  Whereever
I roam about, it is pradakshina for you. When I sleep,
it is Samadhi.



Arunachala Siva.   

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

When I prostrate to the Guru, I prostrate to the Self. When I circumambulate Sri Arunachala, I only cirscumambulate the Self. I, the Guru and Sri Arunachala are the Self. ONLY THE SELF IS.

Therefore, I (Sat, or Existence) Am Knowledge (Chit) Itself.

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Yes. Guru = Self = Atma = Brahman, everything.

In Padamalai, Sri Muruganar uses the word Padam, to mean both Sri Bhagavan's feet and also
Bhagavan Himself who is Atma Swarupam.



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Ji. Yes. Sri Muruganar uses the word 'Padam' to mean Sri Bhagwan's Divine Feet, Sri Bhagwan Himself, and also as the Unmanifest Self which is the support and the ground for all manifestations and appearances.

"Though one may run and run to the ends of the earth seeking it, Padam, one's true Self,never comes within the grasp of the ego mind."
                                                              Padamalai

Thank you so much, sir.

Regards,
  Anil
                                               

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Devotees,

We hear the Truth from the Guru, yet we do not realise. Why ? Because of our samskaras. So long as there are samskaras, Sri Bhagwan says that there will always be doubt and confusion. Doubt and confusion are not allowing us to realise our Real Nature. AND THE ROOTS OF DOUBT AND CONFUSION ARE SAMSKARAS. All  sadhanas are taken up to clear and be rid of this doubt and confusion only. So, the roots of doubt and confusion must be uprooted. Their roots are samskaras. Even this knowledge which one gains after hearing from the Guru does not remain unshaken without practice. Sri Bhagwan says that after hearing this truth from the Guru and learning from Him the methods, one must practice refection and one-pointedness as taught unwaveringly, steadfastly, and unceasingly. Sri Bhagwan says that reflection and practice of one-pointedness is certain to scorch the seeds of vasanas. Only then samskaras can be rendered ineffective.

CONCLUSION:

Why do I not realise ?
Because of samsakaras.

Sri Bhagwan’s method:

“FIND OUT WHO DOES NOT REALISE AND WHAT HE DOES NOT REALISE.”
If this line of Enquiry is pursued with perseverance till the very end, Sri Bhawan says that it will be clear that there is no ignorance. Then it will be found that only ‘I Am’ is which does not admit even this discussion.

Thank you,
    Anil   

[Subramanian.R]

Dear Anil,

Devotee: What are the obstacles to remaining steady
in unbroken Bliss? How can they be overcome?

Sri Bhagavan: The obstacles are -

1. Ignorance which is forgetfulness of one's pure being.
2. Doubt which consists in wondering, if even the experience
was of the Real or of the unreal.
3. Error which consists in the "I am the body" idea and
thinking that the world is real. These are overcome by hearing
the truth, reflection on it and concentration.

- Talks No. 95.



Arunachala Siva.

[eranilkumarsinha]

Dear Sri Subramanian Sir,

Ignorance of one’s Jnana-Swarupa causes mind to rise as the reflected ‘I’ nature of which is to doubt and create error.
Sri Bhagwan  :
“To know that there never was ignorance is the goal of all the spiritual teachings. Ignorance must be of one who is aware. Awareness is Jnana. Jnana is eternal and natural. Ajnana is unnatural and unreal.”
                                                  Talk-289

‘Ignorance must be of one who is aware.’

Sri Bhagwan Himself explains thus :

We speak of the Self having forgotten its True Nature. But forgetfulness and memory are thought forms and therefore pertain to the mind. So long as thoughts of memory and forgetfulness are there, they will keep alternating. Sri Bahgwan says that memory and oblivion are to the EGO-‘I’ WHICH MUST BE FOREIGN TOO. Our Truth lies beyond memory and oblivion. Sri Bhagwan compassionately teaches that if the ego-‘I’ would not have been foreign too, the question of oblivion would not have arisen.  When one looks for this spurious ‘I’, it disappears because it is not, because it is unreal. Therefore, obviously, the appearance or rise of this insignificant ‘I’ is ignorance alone.

So, to know that this ignorance, or this spurious ‘I’, is not, is the Goal.
Again:
‘ Ignorance must be of one who is aware.’ Ego-’I’  is the ignorance. Awareness is the Presence. The Witness. Ignorance-‘I’ is of the Awareness, by the Awareness and within the Awareness. We, in truth, is not ignorance-‘I’, but the Awareness Himself. Awareness is the Absolute. Absolute, Eternal KNOWLEDGE (I AM) is the screen on which knowledge and ignorance play for the time being and then disappear and all the while “I AM’ EVER REMAINS “I AM”.  That I am. Sri Bhagwan says that we have told everything and now we should practice and know for ourselves that there never was ignorance, that there never was ‘avidya’.  Contd.

Thank you,
  Anil     

   

[eranilkumarsinha]

Cntd.from the last post:

Devotee : What is avidya ?
 Sri Bhagwan : Ignorance of Self. Who is ignorant of the Self ? The self must be ignorant of the Self. Are there two selves ?
                                                                       Talk—263

No. There is one Self. So, who is ignorant ? No one. Therefore, Sri Bhagwan says that avidya is like maya. However, she who is not is maya. That which is not is ignorance. Hence, the question of ignorance does not arise. Sri Bhagwan says that ‘nevertheless, the question is asked’. Whose avidya? Of the ego-I who is not.  Only ‘I’, the Self exists. Only the Self is. Ego-‘I’, Anil, does not exist in the first place. It is mere fleeting appearance. Even its appearance is not continuous. A new ‘I’ rises with every new thought and dies with it. It is obvious enough that ‘I’ cannot be that ever appearing and disappearing imagination or images. I intuitively know that ‘I am’ ever present. Thoughts are coming and going away—I am present. I am sleeping—I am present. I am waking—I am present. I am dreaming—I am present. Nevertheless, the ego-mind is obstacle to the Realisation. But I am not the mind. ’I am’ the seer of the mind which is only a bundle of thoughts. I am not bundle of thoughts. Sri Bhagwan says, “I AM THAT I AM.” Mind silenced, Mouna ,‘I am’, revealed. Silence alone remains. Witness as Presence alone is—Eternal, Infinite and All-pervading. That I am. Silence.

Dear devotees,

Maya is generally defined as illusion and the power that creates and sustains the illusion. But Sri Bhagwan says that it is wrong to regard maya as something real that created and sustained illusion. In the Self maya does not and cannot exist but, paradoxically, at the same time it arises from within the Self and brings in appearances and phenomena. Sri Adi Shankara also said that the maya does not exist and therefore all her apparent creations are illusory, mithya. Here a problem arises because the Great Upanishads say that all is Brahman. However, Sri Shankara also accepts that this world is Brahman. He only said that the world does not exist apart from the Brahman or the Self. So, seeing the body and the world and assuming that the Self is limited to these names and forms alone which constitute the world, is certainly illusory, mithya.

“When it is established [by experience of the Sages and by the words of the scriptures] that Heart [Self], the form of perfect knowledge [Jnana], is the only real Thing, is not this [so called] great Maya a mere myth ? Then how strange is the opinion [held by some]that Self [or Brahman] is deluded by the bite of this serpent , the mind maya !”
                                                               V. 597, GVK, tr. Sri Sadhu om                                                                       
Thank you,
  Anil